Encounters
by fire mystic
Summary: A series of Reno-centric drabbles, some longer than others . Chapter 5: Line of Fire: Rufus is caught in a tough spot. Entire series rated M for mature content, sexual content, violence and language. Future Reno/Rufus implied.
1. First Encounter

_Too long to be a drabble, but still very short. I may add more related Reno-centric flashes in the future, in which case the rating may change and there exists the possibility for explicit material, including yaoi, but for now I'm calling it complete. No pairing is intended here._

_I neither own nor profit from ffvii or its characters. _

_Enjoy._

_fire mystic_

First Encounter

Tseng watched him carefully, but confidently. He was young, possibly younger than the rumors had led him to believe, but not too young. No, he had given his Turks a run for their money, and now he was like a cornered animal, staring back at him with fierce blue eyes that radiated hostility.

Tseng relaxed, letting the tension run out of his body. He didn't want this to turn into a fight to the death.

"What the fuck, yo?"

"I am Tseng, of the Turks. And you are Reno, if I am not mistaken."

"Turks, yo." He spat on the ground between them. Tseng didn't look. It didn't matter if it hit his shoe; he would forgive it. "I fuckin' knew that. Everybody knows the Turks. What the fuck you want with me, yo?"

"I have heard about you and I am here to recruit you. I want you to join us."

"So why the fuck're they here?" He nodded over Tseng's shoulder at the two men that had raced him down, never so much as flicking his eyes from the man he knew was the most dangerous of the three.

Back-up. That's why they were there. But that was a word Tseng carefully avoided.

"They," he took his eyes from the red-head, giving him a trust he hadn't earned yet, "are here at the moment as my security." He turned back to meet blue eyes. "You've heard about us, know about us, so you know what we do. What you may not know is that we work as a family, helping, supporting each other in whatever way we have to. That means different things at different times, but today they are here simply to assure my safety. Do you know how that works, Reno? Do you know what it's like to be part of something like that?"

"I don't got no family, yo. Never did."

"You will now." Tseng extended his hand. Even this wild, impetuous creature would know what that meant.

"All you have to do is choose it."

Reno warily studied Tseng's face as well as the two men behind him, contemplating what he knew, what he had heard, what he was hearing now.

Tseng's hand never wavered.

Reno's was just as steady when he met that hand with his own.


	2. Training

_It looks like this is becoming a series of 'snapshot' drabbles. No direct continuation from one to the other, just little peeks here and there. For r&r, thank you._

_Enjoy._

_fire mystic_

Training

"He's very young."

Tseng glanced over his shoulder, mildly surprised the President was making an appearance to observe Turk training, one of the more mundane operations within Shinra, to which the president seldom gave his direct attention.

"Physically, yes," Tseng responded, turning back to watch his newest Turk. "But his experience and survival instincts are an entirely different matter."

Reno had yet to win. How could he when Tseng made sure the odds were stacked against him? When his opponents weren't exactly fighting fair? Long hair, loosely held at the nape of his neck, flicked over one shoulder as Reno studied his opponents. Calculating. Yes, he was a cunning one.

"I've also heard he is difficult to handle. Doesn't take orders very well."

Strategy determined, there was a flurry of movement on the training ground, and the dust settled around nothing but fallen Turks, but not one with red hair.

Indeed, Reno was nowhere to be seen.

Devious and wickedly, dangerously fast.

"He'll learn," Tseng responded, knowing the irony would be lost on the President.

The President surveyed the damage done before him, sure there were broken bones involved.

"Seems he has some work to do."

Tseng followed his line of thought, knowing that he couldn't risk more injuries to his Turks in simple training exercises.

"Careful, Sir. We don't want to break him. All that raw instinct will be an enormous asset for the Turks. For Shinra."

Reno reappeared then, dragging another unconscious Turk across the ground by his tie, casting a very self-satisfied, triumphant expression at Tseng, a streak of blood as a badge of honor across his cheek.

Yes, it was time to move these training sessions to the simulation chamber.


	3. Illicit Designs

_I'm interpreting the Honeybee as a straight-up brothel for this, though I know the implications in canon can be interpreted more colorfully. _

_Warnings: Language, sexual situations, implied future yaoi._

_Enjoy._

_fire mystic_

Illicit Designs

Nice tits.

That was his first thought as she strutted by.

Long legs, sweet ass.

Yeah, she'd do, yo.

He lit a cigarette as he followed her down the hall of the brothel. What luck his new job had brought him here tonight; what a perk that he had about an hour to himself. And what better way to spend it?

Well, he could think of one other, but that wasn't an option at the moment.

He paused at the door as the elevator slid open down the hall and he caught the sound of a familiar voice from within.

Rufus Shinra, Tseng at his back listening to the spoiled bastard go on about how unnecessary this was.

Reno's lip twitched as he leaned against the door jamb to watch the two men walk down the hall, Rufus' white coat swirling out behind him like a cape.

Stupid fuck. Wasn't even smart enough to appreciate Daddy's waste of money without bitching about it.

Of course, Reno couldn't figure why Old Man Shinra, so determined to get his cherry son laid, would send him here.

Reno had it figured out. He knew the Inn didn't have anything Rufus Shinra would be interested in.

Nope. For all the Honeybee had to offer, it fell short on this one, completely failing to provide for Rufus Shinra's particular tastes. There were, after all, no men on the menu.

Yes, Reno had it figured out, and as he reached down to adjust the throbbing ache of his cock within the confining fabric of his pants, he vowed that though he would relieve that ache in the softer flesh of a woman this night, one of these days he would be the one to give Rufus precisely what he wanted, exactly what he needed.


	4. The Perfect Fit

_Warning for violence._

_I took some liberty with this in Rude being a Turk before Reno, if only by a small amount of time. I'm **not** insinuating here that Rude has any kind of authority; he's simply playing a guessing game, trying to guess the perfect fit. Thank you for the R & R._

_Enjoy. _

_fire mystic_

The Perfect Fit

They were trained well in a variety of forms and weapons. But they all had their favorite, and sometimes one of them even had a weapon that was part of their personality. A perfect fit, as simple as that.

As Rude observed Reno from his vantage point, he tried to identify what that weapon would be for their newest Turk. They had tried guns. Reno didn't have a problem with them, but he was more of an up close and personal fighter. While Rude liked to keep his distance, keep his hands clean, keep his wardrobe sharp, Reno had a way of getting in his enemy's face, almost as if he wanted to look them in the eye as he took their life.

So, with some success, they moved to swords, then to short swords, and finally to knives. With all the rest, Reno was more than sufficient, but with knives, he excelled. He could hide them easily, and they fit his style. To some degree.

Reno could have easily taken out his opponent without such dramatic flair, but he was enjoying this fight, weaving in and out, playing with him. He flowed around and about, combining his Shinra training with what he knew before Tseng found him. Rude couldn't see the knife in Reno's hand, but he could see the evidence of the honed blade, blood dripping from a multitude of small flesh wounds that by themselves wouldn't have been worth the time, but together must have been agony. Reno dodged any retaliation, zigging like lightening and as untouchable. At long last, bored with his game but high on the kill, Reno circled, coming up and under his opponent in a blur of speed that was charged with attitude, determination, instinct, and survival. The outcome was quickly determined, in the expression on the double crossing bastard's face, in the brutal twist of Reno's body, in the crimson fluid that gushed as Reno pulled back. A killing blow. Reno disengaged, standing clear to survey the damage done, disheveled, hair pulled loose, clothes and hands bloody. But when he met Rude's gaze, his eyes, his body, still crackled with that menacing energy.

With that image indelibly burnt into his mind, the answer was clear. Rude knew exactly what kind of weapon had been made for Reno.


	5. Line of Fire

_My drabbles seem to be getting longer. *shrugs* Oh well, it's not as if I were sticking to the technical definition anyway. Some "snapshots" need more words than others!_

_Warnings? Not really. A smidge of colorful language and hints at future Reno/Rufus. Disclaimer? Except for my Reno figurine and the couple of video games I have, I own nothing ffvii. _

_Enjoy._

_fire mystic_

Line of Fire

The concrete wall was rough and cold, even through the layers of his suit, and Reno was handling him roughly, bodily pushing Rufus as if it might be possible to imprint him into the wall, effectively using his own body to shield Rufus.

Why don't I ever listen, Rufus thought. Tseng had warned him about this meeting, warned him that protection would be difficult here. But no, he had insisted it would be fine. And now, here he was, back literally to the wall, with the youngest and newest Turk on the payroll the only thing between him and the flying bullets.

"Son-of-a-bitch," Reno swore under his breath, wrenching Rufus hard to the right as he pushed him down further against the concrete.

Rufus had about a half a second to wonder if he should try to get free and take his chances on his own. Was Reno really the best chance he had at survival? Maybe this was Tseng's way of rubbing it in; of saying "I told you so". Tseng wasn't like that, though, and had reassured Rufus that despite what Rufus knew or might have heard, his concerns about Reno's age, inexperience, cocky attitude, pranks, and laziness, Reno would do his job.

He heard the bullet, first as Reno hissed a violent "fuck" and flinched, and then as it continued its trajectory, whistling past them, and further as it impacted mere inches from their heads with a sickening thunk in the concrete. Dust, shards of rock, and a splatter of something warm and wet hit Rufus' cheek.

Was that blood? Rufus couldn't see well enough in the dim light, and panic flared through him as Reno's body sagged heavily against him for a moment. He shifted to better balance himself in case he had to run.

"Stop fighting me, Rufus."

Reno's use of his name registered vaguely. Reno never called him by his name.

Reno caught his weight against arms braced tightly on either side of Rufus' shoulders. Rufus felt the muscles tighten and shift under the cover of the Turk's suit and Rufus became aware of the Turk in a way he hadn't been before. He had wondered why Tseng bothered with this kid, but for all he could figure, Reno had just been shot. For him. And he was still standing, still with him, still calm and in control of the situation. And he was strong, deceptively so, shifting Rufus with little to no effort.

There was the screeching of car tires, another volley of bullets, and the air became eerily silent and still. In the peripheral of the headlights, Rufus couldn't see past Reno's shoulder, the long, distinctive line of his neck, which was glistening with a light sheen of sweat and to which a stray strand of hair clung.

Rufus' imagination took over, creating a scene that was similar but in an entirely different context, Reno above him, breathing hard, positioning him, sweating over him.

What would his skin, his sweat, taste like?

Rufus shook away the invading wayward thought just as Reno pulled slightly away. He couldn't let himself get distracted like this. He had kept his attractions to himself up to this point, and he couldn't risk Reno, or anyone else who worked for his father, finding out the truth of it.

Fingers snapped in his face, and he startled, looking up to find Reno standing over him, reaching out a hand to help him up. Averting his eyes, he took the hand, feeling the flex of muscle in those slim fingers as Reno pulled him to his feet, hoping he could school his expression before Reno could interpret it for what it was. He wasn't as steady as he thought, his balance wavering slightly as he stood. Then Reno was close, standing right up against him, anchoring him, his hair brushing against Rufus' face, his breath moistening the shell of his ear as he spoke.

"Easy, Bossman. You ain't got nothing to worry 'bout, yo." Rufus felt Reno's lips brush his ear and his hand on his shoulder, innocent gestures, Rufus convinced himself as he stared hard at the blood seeping through the torn fabric of Reno's sleeve.

"Give it time, Rufus, and you'll learn to let me take care of you."

Reno stepped back, his eyes raking Rufus from head to toe and back again, his hands sliding from his shoulders to straighten the lapel of Rufus' jacket and then smooth the narrow tie into place. He met Rufus' gaze briefly before turning away, and Rufus knew. From the gleam in Reno's eye, from the quirk of his lip, almost a smile, but not quite, from the relaxed, easy sway in Reno's body as he walked away, even from the his lazy gait, Rufus knew.

There was nothing innocent about Reno's gestures at all.

Reno stood with his back to Rufus as Tseng inspected the wound on Reno's arm and Reno watched, shrugging as if it simply didn't matter and all Rufus could think, all he could hear was _"...you'll learn to let me take care of you"._

And Rufus was sure that promise had nothing to do with Reno taking a bullet for him.


	6. Smoke and Mirrors

_Tseng did all the talking this time, but it was all about Reno. Only thing better would be Reno speaking for himself, yo. _

_Thanks to all who have read, review, encouraged, and been patient waiting for this update._

_Enjoy._

_fire mystic_

**Smoke and Mirrors**

Why Reno? He's too young, he's too impulsive, he's too difficult to control, he's got a temper. The list of Reno annoyances was endless, and Tseng patiently listened to every complaint from their various sources, Shinra employees, fellow Turks, and Rufus. Especially Rufus. Tseng listened and smiled. Listened because he understood, smiled because the truth of it was was so obvious that he had to marvel at the simplicity of it.

Reno, standing on a street corner, leaning back against a wall, one knee bent, the foot resting on the wall behind him as he lit a cigarette. No one would know how well he observed his surroundings, filtering out possible threats, taking in and categorizing any information he thought he might need.

Reno, curled up on the couch in the office, sleeping in between missions. And as he turned his head slightly, sighing deeply in his sleep, a tiny ray of sunlight catches his face at just the right angle, and the innocence, angelic expression is beyond description. No one would guess, seeing him in this light, in such a susceptible position, of what he was really capable of.

Reno, with that snide smirk, flaring temper, and that propensity to scoff at authority, left everyone wary of him, worrying that he was a loose cannon. But he had never refused an order from Tseng, and the negatives of his behavior were balanced by an instinct Tseng had rarely seen, an instinct that kept Reno alive. As well as those around him.

After all, he had taken a bullet for Rufus.

Rufus hadn't said a word about Reno since.

And there it was in a nutshell. People invariably underestimated Reno. Even Rufus. Even Tseng. Because Reno was a master at it. In fact, Tseng was convinced, it was part of Reno's nature, something he did as naturally as he breathed.

Deception.

And yet, Tseng suspected, that deception hid a simple sincerity that most people missed. And perhaps that was the biggest deception of all.


End file.
